When 3-year-old Carson went missing, Cooper, the family dog, kept him company until searchers found him.

Then around 2 a.m., searchers found Carson a mile from home with Cooper, the family dog, right by his side.

"He goes, 'Mom I was really scared, but Cooper laid on me. He kept me warm,'" Courtney Urness said. "And I said, 'What about your feet?' And he said 'No, not those.' Great dog. I just didn't realize that he would actually be keeping him warm and protecting him."

It turns out, Cooper was just returning a favor -- the Urness family rescued him from the side of a road, where he had been left as a puppy to fend for himself.